


Exes and Oh... No

by bentofaxmachine



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Bottle Episode!, Christmas, Exes, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Happy Ending, Humor (I tried), Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Pining, Relationship(s), Reunions, Unexpected Reunions, Unresolved Tension, humor with heart, implied akam, platonic shinran
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28231347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bentofaxmachine/pseuds/bentofaxmachine
Summary: Shinichi spent 3 years traveling and solving cases anywhere that wasn't Japan.  He's not sure what to make of the situation he faces during his brief stop at home.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan & Mouri Ran, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid & Mouri Ran
Comments: 5
Kudos: 83





	Exes and Oh... No

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I haven't written anything in so long, I've been working on something bigger. I was so sad that I didn't do the KaiShin Secret Santa or the DCMK Secret Santa though, so I wrote this as my holiday contribution.
> 
> I wrote this all in under a day, so don't mind some of the choppy transitions and wording.
> 
> I had a couple of people from Discord help me out on this, so thank you so much :)

Shinichi ducks his head as he enters the Poirot Café, decorated for the imminent Christmas festivities. In the past 3 years, not much has changed, though the red, worn booths seemed emptier than he remembered. Then again, he had run into Amu - no, Furuya-san - during his brief stop in New York City. He seemed content there and explained with pink cheeks that he had no plans of moving out of his apartment with Akai-san anytime soon.

He didn’t learn much else, since they only met up one more time after that. He never stayed in the same city for all that long. Throughout his travels, Shinichi was pretty adamant about his 2 Month Rule, shortened to a 2 Week Rule if he was near someone he knew. He’d tell himself that it was good for his social skills, to go to different places and practice making new friends. He’d also tell himself that it was good for his detective skills, becoming familiar with new cultures all over the world. His travels had left him with an international network of agents, detectives, and new friends, as well as a new Facebook account with 678 new friends on it.

Shinichi tries to refocus on the present by shaking his head and blinking intensely. He smiles at a patient Azusa-san, goes through the same conversation he had suffered through many times since he had first stepped back into Japan (“It’s been so long!” “Yes, about 3 years.” “It’s great to see you again, Kudou-kun”), and hands her a special gift from Amuro-san. While she tore open the note, Shinichi slumped into a chair by his usual table.

“Sorry, sir, but I was sitting there,” says a stranger from behind him. Shinichi bows politely and apologizes. _Right, 3 years_ , he reminds himself. _A lot has changed here. I only recognize half of the regulars._

He knew one. Besides him, there were only two other patrons there. 

There’s an open table in the back corner. Shinichi’s pretty sure there was a murder there a while he was still Conan, but he can’t bring himself to worry too much about it. As he sits and waves over Azusa-san for a cup of coffee, Shinichi’s right hand unconsciously travels to his chin, as if it would help him remember faster. _I was with someone else, definitely someone smart… perhaps Hattori? Speaking of which, I should probably get in touch with him. He’s still in Osaka, right?_

Someone places the coffee cup on the table. Without looking up, Shinichi mutters his thanks and lifts it to his lips. _Yeah, he mentioned that he and Kazuha-san ended up together, so that would-_

His thoughts were disrupted by an unattractive coughing fit. “What the fuck?” Shinichi wheezes. “Azusa-san, I didn’t order a ho- _what the fuck?_ ”

Standing behind the seats across from Shinichi’s booth are Ran and Kaito staring down at him in an endearing way. Ran’s leaning into Kaito, who has his arm snaked around her waist.

“Aww, his habits haven’t changed, have they?” Kaito says with a lopsided grin.

Ran rolls her eyes. “It’s kind of amazing how little he has changed, even after leaving us for 3 years.”

"The Jet-Set Holmes is still the same idiot after all this time." Kaito muses as Ran nods in agreement. 

Shinichi is struggling to stifle his coughs as his eyes travel between the two. _One ex, I can work with, but.. two?_ At this rate, he’s going to wind up on the next flight out of Tokyo.

He had expected Ran since she had been the one to invite him out. Shinichi has no problem saying that she was the person he wanted to see the most during his brief stay in Tokyo, so he had quickly accepted. Despite their romantic misadventures and years of miscommunication (or lack thereof), the two of them were always friends first. At least their breakup was expected and clean and didn’t drive him to wander and solve crimes across the world for years. Kaito, however…

Shinichi cleared his throat with a final, loud cough. “Hi Ran, it’s been a while,” he starts before turning to Kaito to greet him with a weary nod. “I was only expecting… you to be here, but I guess this works.”

Ran smiles at Kaito, who pulls out her seat like a gentleman. “Sorry, I probably should have said something. I was just so excited to see you again. And so was he.” Now seated, Ran jerks her head over to Kaito and moves her hand to his thigh. In response, Kaito stretches his arm and wraps it around her, giving Ran the dashing smile that was once reserved for him.

Shinichi’s years of traveling had allowed him to build and fine-tune his ability to read people and relationships, but frankly, it wouldn’t take a genius to understand what’s going on here. He takes a deep breath and a long sip of coffee. 

“How long have you been together?” Shinichi prays that he sounds normal. He probably does, but Kaito’s face never reveals anything and Ran is too nice to call him out. 

“Six months,” she responds. “You were in France then, right?”

“Normandy,” Shinichi confirms. “I helped the DGSE and MI6 apprehend an international serial killer sending messages coded through _Arsène Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes_. Nice guys. The agents, I mean. The killer was kind of an asshole.”

Ran rolls her eyes, but when her eyes refocus on Shinichi, they’re filled with amusement rather than concern. “Of course this mystery-loving nerd can’t stop to relax anywhere he goes. At least you sound like you enjoyed yourself.”

Shinichi smiles wistfully. “I did,” he says, before launching into a karate themed serial killings which took place in Canada, watching Ran’s face shift from annoyance to pride as he pointed out the perpetrator’s mistakes when shaping the bodies into various stances (it was only through extensive, joint research with a local karate dojo and the Ontario Police Department that he had been able to point of the various errors). The pride was… new, but Shinichi decided that it’s a good look on her face. _Kaito must be a good influence_.

When he finally reaches the end of his story, Ran leans back in her seat. “I have to say, Shinichi, you’ve become a significantly better storyteller since you left us. There wasn’t even a single Holmes tangent in there.”

Shinichi gives a small shrug. “I learned to talk to people about what they’re interested in rather than what I’m interested in. That’s why I didn’t bring up the creep in Cape Town who kept trying to kill me for not being worthy of being called the ‘Modern-Day Holmes’.” At the sight of Ran and Kaito’s horrified stares, Shinichi blushes. “Too far?”

“At least you noticed,” Ran mutters, but it’s hardly heard over Kaito’s outburst. 

“How could you not tell us? I- _We_ were so worried for you while you were gone. I thought you had just gone traveling as your parents had, but you were putting you in real danger! Danger where we couldn’t have helped you if things… went… bad…” His last words were uttered slowly, presumably due to Ran’s apparent death grip now on Kaito’s thigh. Shinichi saw the tears forming in his eyes, and winced in sympathy. He didn’t have it in him to bring up that Kaito was still his emergency contact, so if Shinichi had gotten hurt, his ex would have been the first to be notified.

“Babe, I’m certain that Shinichi could handle himself. He’s smart enough, don’t you think?”

Kaito relaxes into Ran and the smile which Shinichi wishes was still aimed at him returns. “Right. Shinichi is smart and competent and pr-professional…” Kaito turns to Shinichi. “Of course you’d be fine without us.”

A silence falls over the table. Azusa-san comes back over to replenish their cups. She’s humming a nostalgic song that Furuya-san always played in the café. When she walks away, Ran raises her eyebrows and smirks at Shinichi. “You found Amuro-san? He left a little after you and never said goodbye.”

“He’s in New York. I think he went for a quick vacation but ended up meeting someone.” Shinichi didn’t think who was all that important. “He didn’t seem to have any plans to come back, but don’t tell Azusa-san.”

Ran giggled and nodded. Kaito’s reaction mirrors his girlfriend’s, but when Shinichi’s eyes meet his, his lips turn into a small smirk. _I figured,_ he expresses, and Shinichi knows exactly what he’s talking about. KID was around for the takedown and the debriefings after all, and the entire time Akai-san and Furuya-san were standing too close to each other.

Ran and Kaito began to fill in Shinichi on the various happenings around Beika. Shinichi tried his hardest to keep up, but only seeing Japan through video chats for the past 3 years meant that he had missed a lot. It didn’t help that his eyes kept traveling to Ran’s hand on Kaito’s thigh… 

“First division has way fewer cases now, but they’re not solving them as quickly because you aren't around.” 

“Kaitou KID stopped announcing heists about 2 and a half years ago. Odd, isn’t it?” 

“Sonoko’s mother was pissed when she came back from a karate tournament, married! We were all so surprised.”

“I’m doing magic shows now. A New Years’ live show invited me on and I accepted.”

The last sentence shifted Shinichi’s attention to Kaito. “That’s great!” he exclaims. “I’d take time to watch, but I may have to return to Abu Dhabi to follow up a couple of kidnapping cases the day after Christmas. I only came back to Japan for the week to visit Ran and my parents…”

It was only the years of learning to read KID and the year (and 4 months, his brain always added) of dating that allowed him to see Kaito’s lips thinning a minuscule amount and eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. His hand tightens around Ran’s shoulder. Suddenly, Shinichi finds himself very invested in his coffee.

Ran coughs. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but the reason I invited Kaito here was to ask you what you thought about our relationship,” she admits.

Shinichi spits out his coffee and sprays it all over the table. “Fuck,” he mutters, waving down Azusa-san. She watches the commotion with an amused smile, then brings over a clean rag. Shinichi scrambles for it to sop up the mess on the table. 

“Still such a mess,” Ran muses. Kaito lets out a snort of laughter.

“So you want me to bless your relationship?” he asks, distracting the couple from his mishap. _No, saying the words out loud doesn’t help very much._ Ran flushes at Shinichi’s question and sneaks a glance at Kaito.

“I… guess? You were the last one to date both of us so I figured that you’d know best if we were good for each other.”

  
  
So Kaito hadn’t dated since he had left Japan. Shinichi files that information away in his mind for later. Grateful for it, he decides to humor Ran.

“I mean… if I’m the last one that either of you dated, then you’re both dating up. Kaito,” he pauses as Kaito looks up at him, “Ran’s great. She’s nice and considerate. She can do all the things you talked to me about that night better than I could have ever.” Kaito’s eyes cloud up with an emotion Shinichi can’t quite read before they tear away from him.

Shinichi looks to Ran next. “If I’m the last person you dated, then it's no secret that you're dating up. First of all, look at him,” He gestures to Kaito, who still refuses to meet his eye, “and also, he knows how to act based on how you feel. He pays attention to when you enter a room and acts accordingly. And his abilities as a magician, the shows he’ll put on with tricks that are your favorite. He’ll be the boyfriend you deserve. Not to mention, with the gymnastics and all, he’s, uh, more built and flexible-”

Ran slams her fist down on the table, making the other patrons and Azusa-san look up. The table is left with a dent, reminding Shinichi of his friend’s impressive strength. “I’m done here,” she says to Kuroba. “Shinichi, Kaito and I aren’t dating.”

Shinichi is left gaping at Ran, who’s detaching herself from Kaito and checking her phone. “What?” He looks to Kaito for confirmation, but he’s still refusing to look back at Shinichi. He stares back at Ran, who’s looking at him with an expectant look in her eye. 

He ignores it. “Ran, will you step into the bathroom with me?”

Ran’s jaw drops and her eyes narrow. “N-no, not like that, I just need to talk to you,” Shinichi splutters. 

“Just talk to Kai-”

  
  
“Eehh, _Ran-neechan,_ you’re be-” 

Before Shinichi can finish his sentence, Ran has nearly dislocated his shoulder while locking them in the tiny bathroom. They both press against opposing walls, but there’s no space for either of them to move. Since Shinichi never grew after returning from Conan and Ran chose to wear a pair of heels, their eyes lines align, making it impossible to break eye contact.

“You’ve really become a little shit since you became Shinichi again.”

Shinichi laughs. It’s not the first time he’s pulled this stunt and Ran hated it every time. “It’s been 3 years since I’ve done it. Give me a break.”

Ran sighs. “What, so you can just leave in 2 weeks?” This time, Shinichi’s jaw drops, and any semblance of a smile is wiped off of his face. “Don’t think that you could keep it from us. Your parents are better connected than you and keep track of every city you have gone to. You don’t stay in countries for longer than 2 months, and if you run into someone you know, you usually leave within a week or two. They filled me in because you hardly called.”

Shinichi shifts his weight. Ran’s eyes continue to cut into him. “I’m dating Sera-chan from high school. After she came back from university abroad, we reconnected. It’s been over 2 years, and somehow you, my best friend, had no idea.”

“I’ve missed a lot,” he realizes. Sonoko’s married, KID’s gone, Kaito is finally starting his magician career that he talked about so much… 

Ran seems to read his mind. Her eyes soften, probably for Kaito’s sake more than his own. “He’s been waiting for you to come back. Aoko and I spent so much time watching him stare at his phone with his finger hovering over your contact.” She laughs and shakes her head in disbelief, relieving the tension in the bathroom. “Such an idiot. He didn’t think that you would have met with him if he had asked you out, you know. That’s why Kaito set this whole fake-dating thing up. He should have just pressed the button. Imagine if he knew about the times that you called me.”

_Imagine if he knew of the nights that I didn’t call, too_. During those 3 years, Shinichi only ever called Ran to drunkenly cry over Kaito. Other nights, when he was only tipsy, he would stare at Kaito’s number on speed dial for hours.

“I’ll see you at Christmas,” she says. Shinichi is enveloped in an awkward hug, and Ran pecks him on the cheek before slipping out of the bathroom. After composing himself, he steps back into the restaurant and returns to his spot on the booth across from Kaito.

“So the Jet-Set Holmes finally wants my attention,” he teases. 

Shinichi grimaces. “I can’t believe that nickname made it back here.” 

He’s graced with Kaito’s dazzling grin. “You’re an international sensation, my dear.”

Shinichi breathing hitches. He hadn’t been called that in a very long time. Kaito’s grin morphs into something artificial and KID-like. “Sorry, force of habit, Shinichi-san.”

He loathes the formality in his name. Shinichi struggles to find something to say. “Kaito,” he utters, and it’s all he needs to watch his ex crumple. Kaito’s brows furrow and his lips pull into a frown.

“Why did you leave?” Kaito whispers. 

“Because you broke up with me,” Shinichi answers honestly. He has to drop his gaze to answer, though.

“Did you miss me?’ Kaito asks with a stronger voice. He shifts his hand to the center of the table, and Shinichi considers taking it on his own.

“Most nights,” Shinichi admits as his voice breaks. “Did you…” _miss me?_ The rest of the words die on his tongue.

“Not at first,” Kaito confesses, “because I meant every word I said that night.”

. . .

_“Hey, darling, sorry I’m late.” Shinichi rushes into the Danny’s - their Danny’s, where Shinichi had first confessed his feelings, where Kaito had leaned in for their first kiss, where they had nearly been kicked out too many times while debating Arsène Lupin versus Sherlock Holmes over a shared bowl of curry - and kisses his boyfriend’s cheek. Kaito doesn’t react to the pet name, though._

_“You’re late again.” His eyes are hardened, filled with regret and resolve._

_“I know, I know. I’m sorry, but a corpse nearly fell on me on the way over and-”_

_“You could have left it to the police.”_

_“But they wouldn’t have solved it.”_

_“You would have eventually.”_

_Shinichi lets out a tired sigh. “Kaito-”_

_His boyfriend places his hand on Shinichi’s. Shinichi falls silent, but his knee is bouncing under the table. He hates making Kaito upset. He’s already planning their next date in his mind to make up for this one._

_“This happens every time. I’ve planned around you and tolerated it for so long, but I don’t want to be with someone who thinks that their corpses are more important than their boyfriend.”_

_Shinichi feels his shoulders fall. “You’re breaking up with me?”_

_The lack of an answer is an answer itself. Tears are rolling down Kaito’s face, and Shinichi is pretty sure there are tracks on his face to match. No one’s bothering them, and Shinichi is beginning to suspect that Kaito had told the waiters to stay away._

_“I love you,” Shinichi says because he really means it and needs Kaito to know._

_He smiles sadly and wipes Shinichi’s tears away with his sleeve. “I do too, but I can’t do this anymore. I’ve paid the waiters in advance, and they’ll keep serving you coffee without asking questions, okay?”_

_Shinichi looks up at, well, his ex now. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, but instead of responding, Kaito stands up and walks out of the restaurant._

. . .

“I was certain that I had done the right thing. That’s what Aoko had told me too, since you had stood me up so many times. I didn’t like that you no longer showed up at KID heists, but it felt necessary.

“But then you disappeared from Tokyo, and I was the first person Ran asked about your whereabouts even though we had broken up nearly a month before. You must’ve talked about me a lot. We couldn’t find you though, and the next thing we knew, you were on the news halfway across the globe for apprehending a killer in Los Angeles.” Kaito pauses to take a breath.

“It hurt here,” Shinichi reasons, but it feels stupid now that he looked back.

“I understand,” Kaito says anyway. For a moment, Shinichi’s heart lightens. “I collected updates of where you were. Ran had offered me updates from your parents, but I just felt like I had to do it myself for some reason. And eventually, I realized…” he swallows, “I realized that I was still in love with you.”

Shinichi doesn't say anything, but he reaches out to meet Kaito’s hand on the table. It feels like enough for now. Shinichi’s eyes meet Kaito’s. They’re filled with 3 years of unsaid “I love you”s and “I’m sorry”s.

_This is what I want,_ Shinichi decides, as he fumbles for his wallet. He pulls Kaito out of his chair and moves to the front. Azusa-san stares at the generous bill he hands to her. “Keep the change.”

He opens the café’s door, but Kaito stops him halfway out. “Mistletoe,” he comments. Shinichi looks up at the doorway.

“There’s nothing there-”  
  


Shinichi’s voice fades when Kaito leans down to kiss him on the cheek. His chapped lips scratch Shinichi’s cheek, but he leans into it anyway. Kaito eventually pulls away, and they stand in the open doorway for a long time. All the other customers had already left, so no one was there to complain about the cold.

“I’ll stay for your show,” Shinichi says to break the silence. He’s immediately pulled into a warm, comfortable hug, and makes a mental note to cancel his flight away from Tokyo and Kaito.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I do a plot twist correctly? 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Comments are validating and appreciated :)
> 
> Wear your masks and have a safe and happy holiday!


End file.
